In a compromise meant to appease both industry and environmentalists, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark today banned all commercial uses of genetically modified organisms for the next two years, while allowing GMO field tests to begin. Test plantings of such crops as peas and petunias could be start within the next year; the government said all the experiments would be strictly controlled to prevent contamination. Clark’s decision angered some factions of the coalition government now in power, including the Green Party and Maori members of Clark’s own Labor Party. Meanwhile, European Union members rejected a plan yesterday to end a moratorium on GMOs, despite concerns that GMO-export countries like the United States could complain to the World Trade Organization if the ban is not lifted.
